Kingdom of Iraq

The Kingdom of Iraq was an Arab monarchy that existed from 1932 to 1958, replacing the United Kingdom's colony of Mandatory Iraq and preceding the Arab Federation. A 1920 revolt in Iraq led to the British deciding to create a semi-independent kingdom in Iraq instead of a mandate, and Iraq became fully independent in 1932. The Sunni Hashemites, from the Sunni minority, put down unrest by the majority Shia sect of Islam and the oppressed Yazidis and Assyrians. During World War II, Rashid Ali seized power in Iraq with the assistance of Nazi Germany, dividing the British Commonwealth in Asia in two; this led to the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War, which saw Ali's forces be defeated and regent 'Abd al-Ilah restored to power. In 1945, Iraq would be one of the founding nations of the United Nations and the Arab League, but in 1948 mass communist protests broke out due to the government signing a treaty with the British. In 1948, Iraq was defeated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war by Israel, and in 1958 Iraq decided to unite with Jordan in the Arab Federation to create a united Hashemite state. Unfortunately, popular unrest simmered over, and King Faisal II of Iraq, 'Abd al-Ilah, and other key government leaders were executed as Iraq became a republic.

In 1958, Iraq had a population of 6,488,000 people, and 10% of the population was Christian in 1950; much of the remaining 90% consisted of Muslims (majority Shia and minority Sunni) in addition to Jews and Yazidis. Iraq's population consisted mostly of Arabs, but there were minorities of Kurds, Yazidis, and Assyrians.